In the modern medical era of robot surgeries, drones, and telemedicine, it’s easy to overlook basic communication platforms like your phone system. But your phone system is still a critical method patients and providers rely on for communication. If your organization is using a legacy phone system, it’s time to discover the benefits of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

VoIP is the transmission of phone calls over the Internet instead of traditional telephone lines, and this technology is rapidly transforming how healthcare organizations across the country communicate with their providers, patients, and counterparts.

No matter if your organization is a large medical system, behavioral health group, small doctor’s office, public health department, or rural clinic, VoIP systems can provide numerous benefits that legacy phone services just can’t deliver. Here are the top six benefits of adopting a VoIP phone system.

Enhanced Productivity and Efficiency

It’s no secret healthcare organizations are slammed in our current fast-paced climate. Healthcare administrators and providers alike are watching their responsibilities increase while the amount of time to meet them stays the same. According to IT Toolbox, switching gears throughout the day to tackle tasks like managing contacts and voicemail leads to a 40% reduction in staff productivity.

With a VoIP phone system, you can get your day back with productivity-enhancing features that legacy phone systems can’t support, and the integration of those features creates seamless, time-saving communications among your staff members. Simple-to-configure call routing and self-routing auto attendant features are easy for staff to navigate, improves staff availability to callers who need them, and decreases time spent on routing calls. And, if your goal is to reduce the time physicians and medical staff spend on voicemails, VoIP systems offer voicemail transcribing features that will automatically transcribe messages and deliver them to your email inbox.

Additionally, advanced reporting data gives your team an inside look into the traffic loads of your system. This data is extremely valuable and can be used to make intelligent routing and configuration decisions to balance call loads across your organization.

Cost Savings

With costs escalating and reimbursement rates shrinking, it’s more important than ever for healthcare providers to find innovative ways to save money without sacrificing efficiency.

VoIP is a cost-effective solution because calls are made and received over your organization’s Internet rather than traditional phone lines. This means your organization isn’t being charged for local and long distance calls on a minute-by-minute basis, cutting down your costs by a huge margin.

VoIP systems are also affordable to install. Because VoIP is cloud-based, most of the equipment a healthcare organization needs is already in place, making installation fast and seamless. Typically, the only capital expenditure needed is the cost for the phones themselves. VoIP allows your organization to save time and effort that otherwise would have been spent on additional infrastructure, project management, and staffing. These critical savings can be reallocated to other needed services that directly save lives.

Delivers a Better Patient Experience

At any healthcare establishment, the quality of care provided and patient experience delivered is paramount to success. Adopting a VoIP phone system can help elevate the communication experience your patients have with your facility.

With a VoIP phone system, you enjoy enhanced audio quality and clarity, making it easier to decipher and respond to a patient’s questions and concerns. Additionally, several features can be implemented to ensure your patients and callers are routed to the correct point of contact. Some of these features include:

Prioritized calling for medical emergencies

Call forwarding

Click-to-call

Routing calls based on caller ID

Routing calls with option sets for billing, scheduling, care, etc.

Custom messages based on day and time

Custom hold music or announcements

Integration with patient account information systems

These advanced features work together to ensure your callers are able to reach their destination and gather or relay information quickly and painlessly.

Online Portals Put You in Control

With legacy phone systems, changing system settings can be a difficult task and can even require multiple calls to the vendor. That’s time your providers and staff simply can’t afford to waste.

Another advantage cloud-based VoIP services offer is simple scalability, allowing you to transition as slowly or as quickly as needed. Healthcare organizations vary in size and complexity and your phone system should be able to scale to your needs. With traditional phone systems, this is incredibly difficult and can cost you more money in the long run. Flexible designs enable healthcare organizations to deploy VoIP at one site or multiple sites if you’re looking to consolidate multiple voice platforms. Additionally, VoIP systems allow you to scale your system to only include features your organization truly utilizes.

Streamlined Communications on the Go

With a mobile VoIP capability, such as an app on your smartphone, your staff and providers are always reachable on their mobile phones. Missing important calls or information can create a lot of added work and decrease efficiency. Thanks to the mobility provided by many VoIP applications, staff members can stay connected by using their mobile devices to receive and make calls to and from their work extensions, as well as access voicemail, call logs, and contact lists.

Ready to upgrade to VoIP? Discover ENA SmartVoice—TeleQuality’s new enterprise-grade VoIP solution designed for healthcare organizations.

ENA SmartVoice is a highly resilient VoIP service that combines the calling capabilities of traditional dial tone with next-generation IP PBX phone features.